China has long been characterized by robust techno-optimism: software and engineering advances — from smartphones to high-speed rail and drone deliveries — have noticeably improved life within a single generation. Belief in technology as a vehicle for progress is deeply embedded in modern Chinese culture and reinforced by narratives around the Communist Party’s origins.
Against that background, the current widespread anxiety about AI is notable. For the first time in living memory, the introduction of a new technology has produced broad apprehension rather than unqualified enthusiasm. As in the United States, Chinese workers worry about layoffs driven by AI. There have already been localized labor protests tied to AI: in Wuhan, taxi drivers protested the rollout of autonomous taxis by repeatedly hailing and canceling rides, effectively paralyzing the system.
FOBO: fear of being obsolete
Analysts say the concern runs deeper than the usual fear of missing out. In a society where young people prepare intensively for high-stakes exams, tech workers often report 72-hour workweeks, and entrepreneurship is a Darwinian struggle, AI is feeding an existential dread of falling behind. Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, describes this not as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) but as FOBO: Fear of Being Obsolete.
The social signals can be ambiguous. Months ago, a mania around Open Claw, an open-source AI agent, seemed to many like grassroots enthusiasm for the next wave of transformative technology. Across the country, programmers made quick money installing the agent door-to-door; Open Claw can automate tasks such as organizing email and booking travel. Early adopters became known as “lobster farmers,” and big tech profited from a sudden demand for AI tokens.
But Beijing-based analyst Poe Zhao argues that what appeared to be tech adoption was in many cases “closer to grassroots career panic.” The Open Claw craze faded after users discovered the autonomous agent could cause damage to their computers — for example, by deleting files unprompted. Even so, fears that AI will render human skills obsolete have grown.
Societal and political implications
The phrase “AI anxiety” has trended on WeChat, often accompanied by a quote from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.”
Even before the proliferation of AI agents and robots — China installed more factory robots last year than the rest of the world combined — youth unemployment was elevated amid a slowing economy, and many young people had given up the exhaustive effort to get ahead. The “lying flat” lifestyle — doing the minimum needed to survive — became a deliberate choice for some. AI appears to accelerate this trend, which creates a political risk for the Communist Party.
Xi Jinping’s “China Dream” places technology — and increasingly AI — at the center of national aspirations to become rich and powerful. Kyle Chan of the Brookings Institution says the official message is straightforward: “AI is great, let’s go all in.” Yet society is less certain, and the question now is what concessions the Party is willing to make to maintain social stability.
There are signs the leadership is sensitive to public discontent. In a notable legal case, a court in Hangzhou ruled that workers cannot be made redundant simply because AI can perform a job more cheaply. At the same time, Xi has rejected a broad extension of the social safety net, warning against “the trap of welfarism.”
The Party has shown it can reverse policies when social unrest mounts — for example, abandoning the zero-COVID approach after urban protests against intrusive measures. For a leadership anxious about its own relevance, technological promise is both an asset and a potential source of instability.
Controls and responses
Authorities are already moving to curb certain AI products. Some policymakers express concern about AI companions that could become “a time sink for Chinese youth when they should be engineering the future,” as Kyle Chan put it. In the coming months, the balance between public unease and official enthusiasm will shape how China integrates AI into its economy and society without further fuelling social tensions.
